1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to an aesthetically pleasing back lighting assembly used with mirrors, in general, and to a back lighting assembly which, in its preferred embodiment, illuminates the entire peripheral dimension of a mirror which has translucent edges, in particular. A design that illuminates only two or three of the translucent edges is also envisioned.
2. Prior Art
There are many examples of illuminated mirrors in the product. Most of these mirrors are illuminated by separate lighting assemblies which are mounted above or to the side of the mirror. These known assemblies are largely acceptable and functional in most cases. However, these separate assemblies require additional wall space in the installation. Also, these assemblies have limitations as to the styles of light fixtures which can be used. Moreover, the installation of the requisite components poses problems in proper alignment.
In the past, attempts have been made to back light mirrors. These attempts have met with limited success. For example, the prior art units were less than acceptable in terms of the amount of light provided to the mirror. Moreover, the prior art units devices (and/or assemblies) had dark “corners” of the mirrors which resulted in the inadequate provision of light at the mirror surface as well as the aesthetically unpleasing appearance of the back lit mirror.
With fixtures using prior art, the point where a corner intersects to complete the geometry of the shape, an objectionable dark spot is present.
To eliminate this objectionable dark spot behind the translucent area of the outer perimeter of the mirror, circular fixtures have previously been introduced. Those fixtures use “circular fluorescent lamps,” “circle-line” lamps have a single point of electrical connection. The fluorescent tube is formed into a round 360-degree figure. Nevertheless, even uniform illumination is not achieved behind the outer perimeter of the translucent portion of the mirror because of a dark spot where the socket termination occurs.